Amra Bangali Khowai district committee organized a four-hour sit-in protest at Subhash Park Kohinoor complex in Khowai district on Thursday. The protest, led by State Secretary Gauranga Rudra Pal of the Amra Bangali Party, aimed to emphasize the demand for according ‘Classical Language’ status to the Bengali language.
Key figures such as Dr. Seemanti Deb, State Secretary of Bangali Mahila Samaj, and leaders Gopal Sarkar, Bidit Debnath, Danish Chandra Pal, and Gautam Ghosh were present during the sit-in strike.
Addressing the gathering, Gauranga Rudra Pal argued for the recognition of Bengali as a classical language, citing historical inscriptions. He highlighted an ancient Bengali script on Shushunia hill in West Bengal’s Bankura district, estimated to be one and a half thousand years old. Additionally, Pal mentioned the Dalma script in Zaida village of Chandil Thana, Singhbhum district, which is about 1700 years old.
Pal asserted that languages like Bengali, Oriya, and Assamese did not attain independent language status until the compilation of books named Charyacharya Vinishchaya. He advocated for the classical language status for Bengali, drawing parallels with Oriya.
The state secretary pointed out that Bengali fulfills all criteria set by the government for attaining classical language status. Rudra Pal underlined Bengali’s rich literary history, mentioning Rabindranath Tagore winning the first Nobel Prize in India and the Asian continent in 1913 for literature in Bengali. Moreover, he noted that the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh are written in Bengali.
The protesters expressed determination, declaring that their movement would persist until Bengali is officially recognized as a classical language.
